History NightmareFuel / ReturnToOz

The first half has threats of brain damage via electrocution in a very bankrupt mental hospital, when she gets to Oz, it's not the pleasant fairy tale land she went to before, but a decaying and destroyed wasteland, now ruled by [[GrotesqueGallery human-headed/wheels for feet laughing monsters, a vain sorceress who takes the heads of living women to add to her collection, and the equivalent of the Devil and his legions of hell if they were made of rock clay-motion]].

--->'''Mombi''': You will be very attractive, one day. Not at all beautiful, you understand but you have a certain prettiness. Different from my other heads. I believe I'll lock you in a tower for a few years till your head is ready and then I'll take it.

--->'''Mombi''': You will be very attractive, one day. Not at all beautiful, you understand but you have a certain prettiness. Different from my other heads. I believe I'll lock you in a tower for a few years till your head is ready and then I'll take it.\\

** Furthermore, the death scene of the Nome King as he begins to decay rapidly after eating his one weakness, a chicken egg.

---.'''Langwidere''': You are rather attractive. Not at all beautiful, you understand, but you have a certain style of prettiness that is different from that of any of my thirty heads. So I believe I'll take your head and give you No. 26 for it.\\

** With her replaced head, the previously dazed expression is replaced by a piercing stare like she's eyeing Dorothy like one would eye an animal that they intend to turn into a fur coat. Because that's essentially what she's intending to do to Dorothy once she's matured enough to be qualified for her collection.
** Her speech to Dorothy [[TruerToText which is almost accurate to the books but tweaked near the end, is an observation that her counterpart, Princess Langwidere said to Dorothy]]. But the intention between the two is very clear when you read between the lines. Langwidere [[BlueAndOrangeMorality spoke of it in a casual manner of trading hats with no ill intent in spite of the morbid manner- showing how odd she was]]. Mombi [[CardCarryingVillain is fully aware of how vile her actions are but doesn't care]]- she fully intends on keeping a young child Dorothy like an animal for years until she'll decapitate her and add it to her collection, showing how much of a vain monster she truly is.
--->'''Mombi''': You will be very attractive, one day. Not at all beautiful you understand but you have a certain prettiness. Different from my other heads. I believe I'll lock you in a tower for a few years till your head is ready and then I'll take it.\\

* The Nome King's DeathTrap of a game. He turns the Scarecrow into an ornament, hides him in a huge room of bric-a-bracs, and they have three guesses each to find the item the Scarecrow has become, and if they win, they can leave without harm. What the Nome King doesn't tell them is that if they guess incorrectly, they themselves will be turned into ornaments, what's worse is that he gives them no clues, and Dorothy and her friends have to go in one by one. It gradually becomes obvious they're walking to their deaths due to this rigged game and the only other option is to be burned in the furnace. Dorothy figures out the Nome King's game, realizing Ozians turn into green-coloured ornaments - and we see plenty of those during the opening pan of the room. So how many other Ozians [[AndIMustScream have fallen for the Nome King's game]]? And with each failure, the Nome King starts looking more and more human.

* During the scene where Dorothy blames The Nome King for turning The Gump into an ornament at the guessing game, he invites them to visit his Fiery Furnace which we get to see flames appear briefly.

* The Wheelers; LaughingMad, human-headed things with wheels that creak very loudly, complete with high-pitched calls.

* When The Nome King [[VillainousBreakdown loses his temper]] and becomes a huge one-eyed giant intent on eating the main cast.

* The Nomes themselves are demonic, but the scariest ones are the ones that reach out at the Scarecrow. It's shot from a first-person perspective, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou so it looks like they're trying to get you]].

* The Nome King's DeathTrap of a game. He turns the Scarecrow into an ornament, hides him in a huge room of bric-a-bracs, and they have three guesses each to find the item the Scarecrow has become, and if they win, they can leave without harm. What the Nome King doesn't tell them is that if they guess incorrectly, they themselves will be turned into ornaments, what's worse is that he gives them no clues, and Dorothy and her friends have to go in one by one. Dorothy figures out the Nome King's game, realizing Ozians turn into green-coloured ornaments - and we see plenty of those during the opening pan of the room. So how many other Ozians [[AndIMustScream have fallen for the Nome King's game]]? And with each failure, the Nome King starts looking more and more human.
* Dorothy and the mysterious girl escaping from the hospital, and winding up getting swept up in a river during a terrible storm. Dorothy only survives because the girl helps her climb onto the porch, which broke off the hospital and wound up floating in the water, so they can use it as a raft. [[NothingIsScarier The girl herself just vanishes beneath the water]]... Don't worry, she's okay. But that still must have been terrifying for Dorothy, who, as far as she knows, just watched a child and her only ally die.

* The fact that Nome King comes extremely close [[NearVillainVictory triumphing]]. Dorothy was down to her final guess in the game described above--and she was the last of the heroes to play. The Nome King's line, "Soon, there'll be ''no one'' left who remembers Oz," indicates that something much darker was happening: if Dorothy had failed, the truth about Oz and its original state would have been lost forever, giving him presumably-unlimited power. And keep in mind that the only reason Dorothy gets her final guess right is ''pure luck''--she closes her eyes and spins around to select an ornament, and only just happens to see the emerald-green paperweight on a table. Had that last desperate guess failed, Oz would have become a desolate wasteland, and every single non-Wheeler or Nome inhabitant would have either been [[TakenForGranite permanently trapped in stone]] or [[AndIMustScream trapped as an ornament forever.]]

* The Nome King is also close to [[NearVillainVictory his triumphant]]. Dorothy was down to her final guess in the game described above--and she was the last of the heroes to play. The Nome King's line, "Soon, there'll be ''no one'' left who remembers Oz," indicates that something much darker was happening: if Dorothy had failed, the truth about Oz and its original state would have been lost forever, giving him presumably-unlimited power. And keep in mind that the only reason Dorothy gets her final guess right is ''pure luck''--she closes her eyes and spins around to select an ornament, and only just happens to see the emerald-green paperweight on a table. Had that last desperate guess failed, Oz would have become a desolate wasteland, and every single non-Wheeler or Nome inhabitant would have either been [[TakenForGranite permanently trapped in stone]] or [[AndIMustScream trapped as an ornament forever.]]
** If the theory that the whole film is all just in Dorothy's coma dream is really correct, she'll be a unconscious living, breathing corpse.

* The Wheelers in their introduction; LaughingMad, human-headed things with wheels that creak very loudly, complete with high-pitched calls.

* The Wheelers in their introduction; LaughingMad, human-headed things with wheels that creak very loudly, complete with high-pitched calls. And their threat:

-->'''Nome King:''' Don't you...know that...eggs...are...poison...\\

* The Nomes themselves are demonic, but the scariest ones are the ones that reach out at the Scarecrow. It's shot from a first-person perceptive, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou so it looks like they're trying to get you]].

* Outside of the more fantastic scares of Oz, there's the fact that Dorothy gets there after escaping a [[BedlamHouse mental hospital]] where she was about to get electroshock therapy. Let's say that again: Dorothy, a little girl, was about to get electroshock therapy. It's made even worse if you know your history; electroshock therapy and even ''[[MindRape lobotomies]]'' were not unknown for children in early 20th Century psychological 'treatment'. And mind you, electroshock therapy can ''kill'' and there are many cases where patients actually died from the treatment; as for those who survived the torture, many were left with burns and are severely traumatized. Granted, modern psychiatric medicine has refined ECT into a less traumatic form which is useful for treating certain serious illnesses (depression and mania), but this is clearly ''not'' that kind of ECT.

* The Nome King is also close to [[NearVillainVictory his triumphant]]. Dorothy was down to her final guess in the game described above--and she was the last of the heroes to play. The Nome King's line about "Soon, there'll be ''no one'' left who remembers Oz" indicates that something much darker was happening: if Dorothy had failed, the truth about Oz and its original state would have been lost forever, giving him presumably-unlimited power. And keep in mind that the only reason Dorothy gets her final guess right is ''pure luck''--she closes her eyes and spins around to select an ornament, and only just happens to see the emerald-green paperweight on a table. Had that last desperate guess failed, Oz would have become a desolate wasteland, and every single non-Wheeler or Nome inhabitant would have either been [[TakenForGranite permanently trapped in stone]] or [[AndIMustScream trapped as an ornament forever.]]
** If the theory that the whole film is all just in Dorothy's coma dream really correct, she'll be a unconscious living, breathing corpse.

** Taken UpToEleven in the novelization's depiction of events; the head is described as “jumbled in with a horrible assortment of charms and spells, monkey skulls, dried spiders and other things Dorothy did not want to even imagine.” ''Yikes''.

* The Nome King's NearVillainVictory. Dorothy was down to her final guess in the game described above--and she was the last of the heroes to play. The Nome King's line about "Soon, there'll be ''no one'' left who remembers Oz" indicates that something much darker was happening: if Dorothy had failed, the truth about Oz and its original state would have been lost forever, giving him presumably-unlimited power. And keep in mind that the only reason Dorothy gets her final guess right is ''pure luck''--she closes her eyes and spins around to select an ornament, and only just happens to see the emerald-green paperweight on a table. Had that last desperate guess failed, Oz would have become a desolate wasteland, and every single non-Wheeler or Nome inhabitant would have either been [[TakenForGranite permanently trapped in stone]] or [[AndIMustScream trapped as an ornament forever.]]

* The Nome King's NearVillainVictory. Dorothy was down to her final guess in the game described above--and she was the last of the heroes to play. The Nome King's line about "Soon, there'll be ''no one''' left who remembers Oz" indicates that something much darker was happening: if Dorothy had failed, the truth about Oz and its original state would have been lost forever, giving him presumably-unlimited power. And keep in mind that the only reason Dorothy gets her final guess right is ''pure luck''--she closes her eyes and spins around to select an ornament, and only just happens to see the emerald-green paperweight on a table. Had that last desperate guess failed, Oz would have become a desolate wasteland, and every single non-Wheeler or Nome inhabitant would have either been [[TakenForGranite permanently trapped in stone]] or [[AndIMustScream trapped as an ornament forever.]]

* The Nome King's NearVillainVictory. Dorothy was down to her final guess in the game described above--and she was the last of the heroes to play. The Nome King's line about "Soon, there'll be ''no one''' left who remembers Oz" indicates that something much darker was happening: if Dorothy had failed, the truth about Oz and its original state would have been lost forever, giving him presumably-unlimited power. And keep in mind that the only reason Dorothy gets her final guess right is ''pure luck''--she closes her eyes and spins around to select an ornament, and only just happens to see the emerald-green paperweight on a table. Had she not succeeded, Oz, and all of its inhabitants, would be truly gone for good.

For the most part, those who never watched any trailers or commercials for the movie expected a cheerful [[TheMusical musical]] with [[TastesLikeDiabetes bright sets and visuals]] and dancing, friendly Munchkins.

* The Nome King's DeathTrap of a game. He turns the Scarecrow into an ornament, hides him in a huge room of bric-a-bracs, and instructs Dorothy and her friends to go in one by one. They have three guesses each to find the item the Scarecrow has become, and if they win they can leave without harm. What the Nome King doesn't tell them is that if they guess incorrectly, they themselves will be turned into ornaments. Dorothy figures out the Nome King's game, realising Ozians turn into green-coloured ornaments - and we see plenty of those during the opening pan of the room. So how many other Ozians [[AndIMustScream have fallen for the Nome King's game]]? And with each failure, the Nome King starts looking more and more human.

* The Wheelers in their introduction; LaughingMad, human headed things with wheels that creak very loudly, complete with high-pitched calls. And their threat:

* When The Nome King [[VillainousBreakdown loses his temper]] and becomes a huge one eyed giant intent on eating the main cast.
** And shortly before that when he shrieks in rage at Mombi in an utterly inhuman voice, ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis "YOU HELPED HER AND YOU! LET! HER! ESCAPE!"]]'' The Wheelers are shown [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere quickly getting the hell outta there]] during that.

* The Nomes themselves are demonic, but the scariest ones are the ones that reach out at the Scarecrow. It's shot from a first person perceptive, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou so it looks like they're trying to get you]].

* The Nome King's DeathTrap of a game. He turns the Scarecrow into an ornament, hiding him in a huge room of bric-a-brac and instructs Dorothy and her friends to go in one by one. They have three guesses each to find the item the Scarecrow has become, and if they win they can leave without harm. What the Nome King doesn't tell them is that if they guess incorrectly, they themselves will be turned into ornaments. Dorothy figures out the Nome King's game, realising Ozians turn into green-coloured ornaments - and we see plenty of those during the opening pan of the room. So how many other Ozians [[AndIMustScream have fallen for the Nome King's game]]? And with each failure, the Nome King starts looking more and more human.
* Dorothy and the mysterious girl escaping from the hospital, and winding up getting swept up in a river during a terrible storm. Dorothy only survives because the girl helps her climb onto the porch, which broke off the hospital and wound up floating in the water, and use it as a raft. [[NothingIsScarier The girl herself just vanishes beneath the water]]... Don't worry, she's okay. But that still must have been terrifying for Dorothy, who, as far as she knows, just watched a child and her only ally die.
* During the scene where Dorothy blames The Nome King for turning The Gump into a ornament at the guessing game, he invites them to visit his Fiery Furnace which we get to see flames appear briefly.

* When The Nome King [[VillainousBreakdown loses his temper]] and and becomes a huge one eyed giant intent on eating the main cast.

-->'''Nome King''': Don't you...know that...eggs...are...poison...
-->'''Billina''': Poison indeed!
-->'''Nome King''': Poison...poison...to...Nomes!
* The Nomes themselves are demonic, but the scariest ones are the ones that reach out at the Scarecrow. But it is shot a first person perceptive; [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou so it looks like they're trying to get you.]]

Spoilers below.

[[caption-width-right:210: The Rock King From hell.]]

[[caption-width-right:210: Rock King From Hell]]

-->"You'll have to come out eventually and when you do... we'll tear you into little pieces and throw you in the deadly desert!"

* During the scene where Dorothy blames The Nome King for turning The Gump into a ornament at the guessing game, he explains to them to visit his Fiery Furnace which we get to see flames appear briefly.

* During the scene where Dorothy blames The Nome King for turning The Gump into a ornament at the guessing game, he explains to them to visit his Fiery Furnace which we get to see flames appear briefly.

-->'''Nome King''': Don't...you...know...that...eggs...are...poison...
-->'''Bellina''': Poison indeed!